Georgia ranked second only to Türkiye for the number of citizens expelled from the European Union in 2025, according to new Eurostat data, placing the South Caucasus country at the centre of growing tensions over migration, visa-free travel and its deteriorating ties with Brussels.
Georgia, a country of fewer than four million people, ranked just behind Türkiye in the EU’s annual tally of returned nationals. The figures raise urgent questions about emigration, visa-free travel and Georgia’s increasingly strained relationship with Brussels.
Georgians returned from EU
10,475
2nd highest in EU, 2025
Total EU returns
135,460
↑ 21% year on year
Georgians refused EU entry
4,785
7th among all nationalities
Orders to leave EU
491,950
↑ 5.8% from 2024
Eurostat’s latest enforcement data, released in May 2026, shows that the European Union returned 135,460 third-country nationals to their home countries in 2025 - a 21 per cent increase on the previous year. Among them, Georgian citizens ranked second, with 10,475 people returned. Only Türkiye, with 13,405 returnees, ranked higher. Syria came third with 8,370, followed by Albania with 8,020.
For Georgia, the figure carries significance beyond the raw numbers. It reflects years of migration pressure shaped by economic hardship, political instability and the visa-free access to the Schengen area that Georgia secured in 2017 - a milestone that opened new opportunities but also created new vulnerabilities.
Germany carried out the highest number of returns of any EU member state, with 29,295 people sent back to third countries. France followed with 14,940, while Sweden recorded 11,250. Together, the three countries accounted for more than 40 per cent of all EU returns in 2025.
"Remittances from Georgian workers in Europe account for nearly 14 per cent of the country's GDP - making emigration not just a social story, but an economic one."
The migration figures come at a sensitive moment in Georgia’s relationship with Brussels. Since 2024, the ruling Georgian Dream party has suspended EU accession talks and adopted legislation widely viewed as Russia-aligned, including a foreign agent law closely modelled on Kremlin-era statutes.
The EU responded by suspending visa facilitation privileges for holders of Georgian diplomatic and service passports, while also updating its visa suspension mechanism - a tool now aimed, at least in part, directly at Tbilisi.
If Georgia fails to meet the EU’s reform benchmarks, all Georgian citizens could lose visa-free access to the Schengen area entirely. The irony is stark: the very freedom that enabled a wave of Georgian emigration may soon be revoked, partly because of the scale of irregular stays and returns that followed.
Beyond expulsions, a further 132,600 non-EU nationals were refused entry at Schengen borders in 2025 - up 7.1 per cent on 2024. Ukrainians topped that list with 26,975 refusals, followed by Albanians and Moldovans. Georgia ranked seventh, with 4,785 citizens turned away at the border.
The most common grounds for refusal across all nationalities were failure to justify the purpose of travel, overstaying the 90-day limit within a six-month period, and the absence of a valid visa or residence permit.
Not all the data points in the same direction. The number of third-country nationals found to be illegally present within EU territory fell by 21.7 per cent in 2025. Fewer people are going undetected - or fewer are attempting irregular stays in the first place. Either way, the enforcement picture is shifting, and Georgia remains at the centre of it.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that...
Thousands of fans turned out in Iran's capital Tehran for a massive farewell ceremony on Wednesday night for...
Türkiye and Armenia’s decision to allow direct trade marks one of the clearest signs yet of a gradual shift in relations between the lon...
The number of dead Caspian seals discovered along Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea continues to rise, with the latest findings reporte...
Latvia’s centre-right Prime Minister Evika Siliņa has resigned after sacking ...
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that the conflict is causing a shift in alliances across the Middle East.
Latvia’s centre-right Prime Minister Evika Siliņa has resigned after sacking her Defence Minister over the army’s failure to shoot down stray Ukrainian drones. Two Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia accidentally crashed in Latvia last Thursday (7 May), with one exploding at an oil storage unit.
Widespread protests erupted across Havana on Wednesday evening as Cuba faced its worst rolling blackouts in decades after the government announced it had run out of diesel and fuel oil amid a tightening U.S. blockade.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was fighting for his political survival on Thursday (14 May) after Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned, saying he had “lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership.
Just one week after a similar move by Australia, Greece announced that it will ban access to social media for children under the age of 15 from January 1, 2027, as governments around the world weigh tougher rules amid growing concerns over mental health, safety and screen addiction.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran as he left for a high-stakes summit in Beijing on Tuesday, as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.
The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has officially opened on the French Riviera, once again transforming Cannes into the global centre of cinema, fashion, and entertainment.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that the conflict is causing a shift in alliances across the Middle East.
The Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has instructed his first deputy to fulfill the public’s expectations regarding the access to the Internet services and platforms amid a wartime shut-down of international connection since late February.
Türkiye and Armenia’s decision to allow direct trade marks one of the clearest signs yet of a gradual shift in relations between the long-time rivals, although analysts say the immediate economic impact is likely to remain modest.
Thousands of fans turned out in Iran's capital Tehran for a massive farewell ceremony on Wednesday night for their national football team, wishing them success before their departure for the World Cup 2026 matches co-hosted by the United States and Mexico.
Türkiye has completed formal preparations to begin direct commercial activity with Armenia, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, marking another step in the slow but steady normalisation of ties between the two neighbours.
A new trilateral energy partnership involving Uzbekneftegaz, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and BP has been announced during Uzbekistan Energy Week 2026 in Tashkent.
The number of dead Caspian seals discovered along Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea continues to rise, with the latest findings reported near the Karazhanbas and Buzachi oilfields in the Mangystau region.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment